We are a Christian family on this wonderful journey called life. Here we will take you through our experiences with adoption, homeschooling, parenting and more. We are constantly growing, changing and learning as a family. Every day is a gift. Thank you for joining us for a glimpse into our adventures as we strive to follow God's path for us by taking baby steps.
"Life is half spent before we know what it is." George Herbert

The Family

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Blessings Abound!

I just wanted to share some amazing news-- I woke this morning to see that I had a text from my husband on my phone. We were granted the consulate appointment that we requested for January 25th!!!! I cannot believe it!! To say that I am overjoyed at the moment is an understatement. This was our very last hurdle to jump over and as usual, God did not disappoint!! And Heidi from our agency said that this appointment should not be taken for granted either-- the Chinese Consulate MADE an appointment opening for us at 9:30am because they new our situation and that we already had tickets booked to go home and that we had come over here to adopt a child who was aging out. Otherwise, they have NO OPENINGS until the END of February!!!! Amazing. I am still in awe at God's love and mercy. The Consulate even said they are looking forward specifically to meeting us and him at his appointment. I am so looking forward to meeting them too!

I have never felt so surrounded by love and have never felt such a peace about something I am doing in my entire life. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this child was meant to be in our lives. He was brought here only because of miracle after miracle and our faith has been stregnthened beyond measure because of it. I explained on one of my Yahoo groups that I feel like a kid in a candy store, or maybe it should be a child on Christmas morning, who has just gotten EVERYTHING she asked for! I almost feel guilty! We have truly gotten EVERY THING we have asked for in this journey-- Tim to have a good job, a social worker who would approve us and get our HS done quickly, an agency who would work with us despite the short time frame, help from others financially to get this thing accomplished, paperwork and travel dates and expediting from both the USCIS and Chinese government to come through, and much more. And certainly that last one has been a biggie-- when has anyone here known of two governments to work together so willingly and so quickly to get something done and they actually do it and do it well!!?? A miracle in itself, that is what that is!

And as a result we have the blessing of a sweet new child to call our own. He really is such a sweetie too. He is quiet, but not shy. He is so friendly and go-with-the-flow. I know he will be a blessing to our family. A child who would probably not get looked at twice here because of his cleft lip and the way it has made his mouth and nose look, will have the opportunity to get some of that fixed once he gets home, and more importantly have the love of a family. Brothers and sisters waiting for him-- which he is so excited about-- and a Mama and Baba to call his own.

And TODAY is his 14th birthday!! Happy Birthday sweet Gideon Sage Lie Rowe!! It has all come together for good and we love you!

4 comments:

Oh Janice!!! Thank you for sharing all of this with us!! It is strengthening my faith too to watch all if this!! We really look forward to meeting Gideon sage!!Tell him we wish him a very happy birthday and ge has 3 new friends ( Eli, ben, gave) waiting to meet him and play!! You and Tim are just amazing!! I love you!!

Believe it or Not... Reeces Rainbow is finding families for many children with Down Syndrome

This will touch your heart-- the plight of the orphan in China. Take a look.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters
compared to what lies within us.~ Walt Emerson

"I cannot play it safe and please God"

Keith Seabourn

"All that is needed for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

Edmund Burke

"I'd rather regret the things that I have done than the things I have not done."

Lucille Ball

"To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice."

Confucius

"And I took the road less traveled by, and that made all the difference."

Robert Frost

"Preach the gospel always, and when necessary, use words."

Unknown

"The one who says it can't be done should get out of the way of the one who is doing it."

Chinese Proverb

"If we say we love God but do nothing on behalf of the world's vulnerable children, we're kidding ourselves; we're ignorant and misinformed. You cannot love God without developing a passion for orphans."

About Me

I am wife to Tim, and stay-at-home Mommy to 10 amazing children! Four of them are biological, and 6 are through the blessing of adoption. We are a Christian homeschooling family who love life and try to follow God's will in all of it.

The beautiful children listed here are all available for adoption through Reece's Rainbow, or have wonderful families trying to raise enough money to bring these children home. They are from a variety of countries around the world and each is beautiful and perfect just the way God made them. They are all deserving of a loving home. Most have Down Syndrome, others have different special needs like HIV, Cerebral Palsy or FAS. Please consider donating to one of these children's funds to give these precious children of God a greater chance to grow up in a loving family instead of being doomed to a short life in an institution.